Publications

Asia has all the ingredients for a full-blown epidemic among men who have sex with men and transgenders. Evidence points to an increasing prevalence among men who have sex with men and transgenders (MSM/TGs) in many Asian countries. In many countries, evidence points to a sexual flip in the mode of transmission, with MSM/TGs becoming the face of the epidemic than heterosexuals. As HIV prevalence rise among MSM/TGs in Developed Asia, it becomes crucial to map out existing HIV/AIDS services for MSM/TGs and scope the capabilities and engagements of existing organizations. This baseline project aims to: 1. Produce an organizational database of groups, community organizations, and institutions that provide HIV/AIDS services for MSM/TGs in their respective countries or territories, from prevention, treatment, care and support to stigma reduction advocacy work; 2. Aggregate findings on the state of preventive measures for MSM/TGs that are being implemented in the target countries and territories and identify the strengths and weaknesses of these responses, and; 3. Identify MSM/TG-related issues to present a general and qualitative analysis of situation of the community in their respective countries and cull needs for further action.

At present various tools are used to derive cost-related information on the HIV response in countries. These include tools to derive unit costs, estimate total resource needs, cost strategic or operational plans, and to optimize resource allocation, track expenditure and estimate cost effectiveness. There is a lack of information or understanding in many countries among national HIV program managers and planners about the respective use, comparability, and compatibility among different tools. Consultants have personal preferences based on familiarity. For The Global Fund, proposals with separate commodity based budgets have to be derived, and there are problems since the Technical Review Panel cannot compare costs across proposals derived through different methods. This note is intended as a short summary of the recent consultation to share immediately with partners to indicate meeting outcomes and action points while the extended meeting report is finalized.

This report presents the findings from the second round of the Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance Survey (IBBS) among the wives of migrant laborers in Achham, Doti, Kanchanpur, and Kailali districts of Far-West Nepal. This survey collected data from 600 spouses of those migrant laborers who temporarily migrate or have migrated to India to work as laborers. The survey measured the prevalence of HIV among the study population. It also looked at multiple factors associated with risks for HIV infection; including condom use; sexual behavior; knowledge of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs); STI treatment history; exposure to HIV/AIDS awareness messages and programs; and alcohol/drug use habits.

HIV was first detected in India among female sex workers in Tamil Nadu in 1986. Over the last 25 years the epidemic has spread throughout the country, affecting a range of population groups and locations. It has been reported from all the Indian states and territories and currently an estimated 2.27 million people are living with HIV (PLHIV) in the country. HIV prevalence in India varies by district, state and region, with numerous isolated pockets of high prevalence. The distribution of regions or pockets of high prevalence has also varied over the years. For instance, in 2000-2004, HIV prevalence in the southern states was estimated to be about five times higher that in northern states. Since then while HIV prevalence has stabilized or even decreased in the southern states, new areas have seen a rise in HIV prevalence particularly in the northern and eastern regions.

Policymaking in Vietnam has traditionally been the preserve of the political elite, not open to the scrutiny of those outside the Communist Party. This paper aims to analyse Vietnam’s HIV policy development in order to describe and understand the policy content, policy-making processes, actors and obstacles to policy implementation. Nine policy documents on HIV were analysed and 17 key informant interviews were conducted in Hanoi and Quang Ninh Province, based on a predesigned interview guide. Framework analysis, a type of qualitative content analysis, was applied for data analysis.

In responding to the problem of drug use, many countries have introduced severe penalties for drug use and related crime, which have resulted in large numbers of people in prisons, compulsory treatment centres, or labour camps without significant long term impact on drug use, drug dependence or drug-related crime in the community and are in contradiction with human rights. At the same time, the long term incarceration of a large number of people who use drugs is expensive. It also results in high risk for the transmission of HIV, hepatitis, and TB, both in closed settings and beyond, that represents a significant public health risk to the community.

According to the United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS, 33.2 million adults and children are living with the infection worldwide. Of these, two or three million are estimated to be in South Asia. All countries of the region have a low prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, it is important to review the current epidemiological data to identify the trends of infection as it would have implications on prevention.  This review looks into many aspects of HIV infection in South Asia including country profiles with regard to infection, economic and psychological burden of illness and treatment issues in the South Asian context.

A study was conducted of legal environments affecting HIV responses among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people in 48 countries and territories of the Asia and Pacific region. The study was conducted from August 2009-June 2010, and considered legislation, cases, and published research and grey literature regarding laws, and law enforcement policies and practices. The study was informed by consultations with community representatives, legal experts and UN agencies. The study was undertaken to fill gaps in knowledge about (i) the effects of laws and law enforcement policies and practices on HIV responses among MSM and transgender people, and (ii) the role of civil society organizations, governments, donors, UN agencies and other multilateral agencies in supporting improvements to legal environments affecting MSM and transgender people. The study highlights examples of good practice.

The 2009 Samoa Demographic and Health Survey (SDHS) is a national survey covering all four regions of the country. The survey was designed to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on housing and household characteristics, education, maternal and child health, nutrition, fertility and family planning, gender, and knowledge and behaviour related to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections.

The military component of peacekeeping operations can play a vital role in the protection of women and children as part of its mandated task of protecting civilians. This means not only protecting women from the violence itself, but also supporting individual social and economic recovery afterwards. In support of these goals, we aspire to recruit more women in uniform to help provide this critical aspect of security in peacekeeping operations, and to ensure that all of our personnel understand that enhancing women's safety enhances mission success. The United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations Office of Military Affairs (OMA) has been actively engaged in this work, and has participated in assessment missions, with technical and financial support from UNIFEM, to areas where sexual violence has been a prominent feature of the conflict and its aftermath.